Colm Toibin's novel 'Brooklyn' follows Irish migrants to America

Author, essayist and poet Colm Toibin is one of Ireland's greatest living writers.

Image: Colm Toibin (ABC)

Colm Toibin lives in both Ireland and New York, but calls Ireland his real home.

Colm says for all the great tragedies that the Irish speak of and sing to each other, the saddest stories are of the millions of people who left the old country for Australia or America, and never came back

His great novel Brooklyn tells the story of Eilis Lacey, who left her family and friends in Ireland to work in New York in the 1950s.

Further information and listening

Richard spoke with Colm just after he'd published his novel Brooklyn which was since made into the movie, nominated for an Oscar this year.

Brooklyn is published by Pan Macmillan Australia.

Originally broadcast 2010

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